Russian Hackers Target Cancer Research UK

Geraldine Strawbridge is a graduate from the University of Glasgow. As the Editor of Cyber Radio, Geraldine is focused on delivering the latest cyber security news whilst making cyber security more relatable to people in their everyday lives.

Russian Hackers Target Cancer Research UK

Cancer Research UK and number of other UK businesses have been targeted by a sophisticated group of Russian hackers.

According to reports from Cybersecurity firm RiskIQ, the perpetrators of the attacks are an anonymous Russian group of cybercriminals known as Magecart, the same group behind the recent cyber-attacks on British Airways and Ticketmaster.

The hackers attempted to steal the card details of people based in the UK who had bought items through Cancer Research UK’s online gift shop.

The charity runs an online shop where customers can buy a range of items such as skin treatment creams and bandanas for patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

To gain access to the financial data, the hackers planted malicious code into the website which would intercept and steal the credit card details of customers.

Other UK companies targeted in the campaign of cyber-attacks included publishing house, Faber and faber, Countrywide Healthcare and furniture retailer Aria.

Nigel Armitt, chief financial officer at Cancer Research UK, commented on the attack: “We advised customers who might have been affected to contact their bank as a preventative measure, so they could be advised if any additional action needed to be taken.

“The online store services were immediately disabled to ensure the exposure was limited and a subsequent investigation conducted by a third-party firm confirmed that there were no supporters impacted by the event.

“The investigation of this incident and its containment was our highest priority. Our life-saving work is only possible thanks to public support. We take online data protection and cyber security extremely seriously.

“We reported the incident to the Information Commissioner’s Office, who were fully apprised of the situation and took no further action.”

The Russian hacking group appear to have ramped up their sustained campaign of attacks and are becoming more sophisticated in the process. All of the hacked organisations had no idea that the malicious code was running in the background and were powerless in protecting the sensitive data of their customers.

The group has also been linked to an online stolen credit card information marketplace called Trump’s Dumps, which uses an image of Donald Trump to advertise stolen card data.

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